Covid-19 Comfort Food

Several weeks ago my brother Myron sent the family a link to an article that declared banana bread to be the baked comfort food of the Covid-19 pandemic.  He approved. 

We happened to have bananas in the house right then, for the first time in weeks, but by the time the idea took hold for me, we had only two left--not enough for most recipes.  So bananas were added to the next grocery list. 

Then the search for a recipe began.  I found a number of recipes--so wildly different from each other that I couldn't decide which one to try.  Then I thought of my American Classics cookbook published by the editors of Cook's Illustrated magazine.  I got that magazine for a while and loved learning all the details behind their meticulous recipe tests.  This thick magazine-sized cookbook has a double-spread section on Banana Bread.  Here's the recipe I made:

Banana Bread

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups toasted walnuts, chopped coarse (about 1 cup)
3 very ripe, soft, darkly speckled large bananas, mashed well by hand (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/4 cup plain yogurt
2 large eggs, beaten lightly
6 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1.  Adjust oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan; set aside.  (Grease and flour only the bottom of the pan.)

2.  Whisk the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and walnuts together in a large bowl; set aside.

3.  Mix the mashed bananas, yogurt, eggs, butter,and vanilla with wooden spoon in a medium bowl.  Lightly fold the banana mixture into the dry ingredients with a rubber spatula until just combined and batter looks thick and chunky.  Scrape the batter into prepared loaf pan and smooth the surface with a rubber spatula.

4.  Bake until the loaf is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 55 minutes.  Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.  Serve warm or at room temperature. 

Notice that the process involves assembling dry ingredients in one bowl and moist ingredients in another, then combining them with a rubber spatula.  Simple.

This bread rose and browned nicely.  The texture was moist but not too heavy.  The flavor was sweet but not too sweet.  I think if my bananas had been a little more "mature," the flavor and moisture might have been even better.  Just so you know . . . the yogurt was chosen after also trying sour cream, buttermilk, and milk--all with results inferior to the yogurt option.

Here is the link to a short video I watched recently on the therapeutic value of baking during the pandemic. Here's the link to the article about banana bread being the designated signature Covid-19 baked food.